College of Idaho claims second NAIA title in three years at Municipal Auditorium in KC
After last season’s hopes for a repeat were dashed in the Fab Four, the Yotes are NAIA champions once again.
Top-seeded College of Idaho claimed its third ever “Battle for the Red Banner,” and second in three years, on Tuesday, toppling No. 7 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan 93-65 at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium.
College of Idaho, capping off a 35-2 season, never trailed in its return to the NAIA title game as soon as starting guard Samaje Morgan opened the scoring with a layup in the first minute.
The Yotes dominated the first half and never let up, rolling into halftime with a 20-point lead — while shooting 54.4% from the floor and 48.1% from 3 in that time.
Morgan led the Yotes with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting.
Dougie Peoples was also key off the bench, scoring 21 points in 15 minutes. Peoples went 5-for-5 from 3 in the first half to help the Yotes build their comfortable lead.
The Eagles never got closer than 16 points in the second half, as the red-hot Yotes finished shooting 55.7% (53.3% from deep).
Oklahoma Wesleyan upset defending NAIA champion and No. 1-seeded Freed-Hardeman in its Fab Four victory. But the Eagles were unable to replicate that mark against the Yotes, shooting just 37.7% from the floor, 20% from 3.
Senior center Jaden Lietzke and redshirt sophomore Nick Bene led the Eagles with 15 points apiece.
Tuesday’s game marked the conclusion of the 87th annual NAIA men’s basketball tournament.
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 9:23 PM.
